Tag: North Carolina
Brief description of what to expect from posts here.
Chasing Curves and Carolina Sky: Part 1
There’s something about rolling north for me, on a crisp fall morning that feels like a promise — that blend of fuel, freedom, and just enough chill in the air to remind you the mountains are calling. Weeks earlier Nate had called to set up a three day ride which included his son Adam and cousin Greg – the four of us were ready. The sun was just burning off the early morning fog when the bikes fired up, that familiar rumble echoing off the quiet Main Street. We had all been itching to carve some high country asphalt, and the route ahead would deliver in spades: Heads down takes us up Hwy. 441 at speed up to Clayton, Georgia. Quick fuel check and we are off: Warwoman Road, Highway 28, Sapphire Valley, Lake Toxaway, Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, and the legendary NC 209 — better known as The Rattler – Day one.
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GREAT ROADS: Cherohala Skyway
I first came to ride the Cherohala Skyway a few years after it opened, in 1998 or ’99. I rode up with a group of CMA friends from the Atlanta area, and we spent a day riding the parkway from Robbinsville NC to Tellico Plains TN. After a hearty late lunch at the popular Tellicafé on the western end of the skyway, the group turned around and rode back across that afternoon. It was early October as I remember, and the mountains were awash in the colors of autumn- gold, orange, red, purple, with pine evergreen interspersed.
It was magical. I was hooked.
Appalachian Playground
If you want a land to get into your soul, ask it to dance. Roam through its curves, flirt with its scenery, stop and stare at its unfolding landscape and it will talk to you, revealing itself like an intimate dance partner. Ask the landscape questions and it will whisper the answers in your ear, embedding it into your memory forever. As a northwest native, I never thought I could feel that way about Fall in the Appalachians.
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Road Dirt Rides Nikens
We rolled into the parking lot of Wheels Through Time Motorcycle Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, anticipating an enjoyable walk back through the annals of American motorcycle history. As with everywhere we rode the Yamaha Nikens, a gathering of gawkers closed in, slack jawed and cameras snapping. An old curmudgeon in a “brand specific” shirt shuffled up to Ted, who was still removing his helmet, and loudly asked in a deep Southern drawl, “Whut da hail is ‘at??” Ted smiled and replied, “It’s a Yamaha Niken.” Before he could offer any details, the old codger declared, “Ha, more like a Yamaha nuthin!” There was a brief moment of stunned silence on our part, as he ambled around the bike, chuckling. Did this clown really just insult the motorcycle of a total stranger??
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Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge & Resort
Nestled among the ancient, sublime Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, down a winding, narrow road through a verdant valley, lies a secluded, 40+ acre motorcycle resort that attracts riders from across the continent and even the world. Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge & Resort, first established in 2003 “by riders for riders”, resides along a meandering, burbling creek fed by chilly mountain waters, and serves as the perfect base camp for some of the best motorcycle riding in North America.
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